Furniture-caster.



L. A. GLIMER.

FURNITURE GASTEE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 20. 1912.

Patnted 0ct.28,1913.

LAURA A. CLIMER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FURNITURE-(FASTER.

Application filed July 20, 1912.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913. semino. 710,638.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lanna A. CLIMER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful improvement in Furniture-Casters, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates particularly to furniture casters of the typeemploying a large or main hall adapted to travel 011 the floor and whichengages a series of anti-friction balls disposed in a cup or bodyprovided with a race for the anti-friction balls.

IIeretofore this type of caster has not come into practical use to anyconsiderable extent owing chiefly to the fact that such casters, asheretofore constructed, collectdust and grit which interfere with theanti-friction qualities, and further because such casters have usuallybeen too expensive.

My primary object is to provide a self cleansing caster of the typereferred to which can be very cheaply manufactured, and which, becauseof its self-cleansing character, possesses important anti-frictionqualities.

The invention is ferred embodiment drawing, in which- Figure 1represents a brokenelevational view, partly in section, of a casterconstructcd in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a broken sectionalview of the same, the section being taken as indicated at line 2 of Fig.8; Fig. 3, a bottom view of the cup or race-equipped body of the caster;Fig. l, a perspective view of a retainer or open cage employed; and Fig.5, a broken sectional view showing a modification.

Referring to Figs. 1 to a inclusive, the improved caster comprises ashallow cup, or race-equipped body, 1, equipped with attaching means 2;a series of traveling anti-friction balls 3 contained in said cup; amain, or floor-engaging, ball. l disposed beneath and engaging theseries of balls 3; and a retainer 5 serving to maintain the ball l inproper relation with respect to the balls 3.

The body or cup 1, in the form shown in Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive, maycomprise a casting or drop-forging consisting of a disk 6 provided witha downturned flange '2' and having a ball-race 8 within said flange. Thelower surface of the disk 6 is recessed, as shown at 9, to clear theupper portion of the ball 41. The attaching means 2 is shown illustratedin its prein the accompanying in the form of a threaded stem which isrigidly secured to the disk or plate 6 in any desired manner. It will beunderstood, however, that any suitable attaching means may be employedto connect the disk 6 to the article of furniture. The retainer 5preferably comprises a ring, or annular member 10, of somewhat smallerdiameter than the diameter of the ball 4t and adapted to engage the ballat below its center, and arms 11., shown as three in number, dcpendingfrom the flange 7 and s rving to support the ring 10. In theillustration given, the arms 11 converge downwardly, the moreeffectually to brace the ring 10 and prevent dislocation thereof. in theevent that the retainer should strike an obstruction. The upperextremities of the arms 11 are preferably parallel with the axis of thering 10 and are received in sockets 12 with which the flange 7 isprovided. The ring 10 is preferably of circular crosssection, presentinga smooth and rounded surface to the ball i. The retainer 5 may be cast;or it may be formed of heavy wire, in which case the arms 11 may bebrazed or welded to the rin Any desired method of construction may beemployed, however. It will be noted that the ball-cup is shallow, thatis, the depending flange 7 is short, that the ball-race 8 is freely openat its lower side, as indicated at 13, thus providing an annular channelwith suilicient clearance to enable any particles of dust or grit whichare carried into the cup to freely fall therefrom, so that the caster isself-cleansing. This feature of construction very greatly improves theantifriction qualities of the caster, as it will be understood that whenthe caster travels, the ball l, and also the anti-friction balls 3, aresubjected to considerable movement, so that any particles of grit whichmay be thrown into the cup will be readily dislodged and fall therefrom.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5, the cup 1 is of a form adapting itto be pressed from heavy sheet metal. Otherwise, the construction issimilar to the construction already described. In the modified form, thecup is formed by downiianging a circular disk; and in this form theball-race 8 is formd simply by the inner wall of the depending flange 7"and the lower wall of the disk 6.

In each of the described constructions, the self cleansing feature ofthe caster is preserved and cheapness of manufacture assured. It may beadded that it is desirable to have the balls 3 very slightly separatedfrom each other, so that they will move freely in the ball-race underall conditions of service. The retainer 5, While shown as l formedindependently of the flange of the cup, need not be separately formed.

hat I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A furniture caster comprising a shallow cup having an annularintegral Wall portion forming a short depending flange, anti-frictionballs in said cup, a main ball below and engaging said series of balls,the

said depending flange extending downwardly in a straight vertical lineand hav- 111g its lower edge terminating substantially 1 in line Withthe bottom of said series of balls, whereby an open space beneath saidballs is provided and the accumulation of dirt in the caster isprevented.

2. A furniture caster, comprising a shallow cup having an annularintegral unbroken Wal1-p0rtion forming a short depending flange, aseries of balls in said cup, a main hall below and engaging said seriesof balls, and an annular Wire retainer ring en circling said main ballbelow its center and provided with upwardly diverging arms having theirupper ends connected to said flange.

LAURA A. CLIMER.

In presence of J. G. ANDERSON, R. A. SCHAEFER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each. by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

